A Slice of Pepperony
by WibbleyWobbleyTimeyWhimey
Summary: It's not easy being the girlfriend of the famous (or should I say the infamous?) Tony Stark. A series of one-shots about Tony and Pepper's relationship.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a series of one-shots, all about Tony and Pepper. The rest of the team will be featured, and there will be bromance as well as Pepperony. Updates will not be regular. I'll add on one-shots as I come up with them. They also probably will not be in order. Please R&R :)

...

Tony's palms were sweating. _That's a first,_he thought, as butterflies exploded in his stomach. He was never nervous. But tonight, he was.

"JARVIS," he said, checking his watch. "Get us some champagne. And where is-"

"She's about five minutes away, sir," interrupted JARVIS. "You really should calm down. Everything will go fine, sir."

"Yeah? Well what do you know? You're just a robot," Tony muttered.

"Says the man who couldn't even feed himself without me," JARVIS replied.

"Hey! I don't remember programming you to be this cheeky."

"Ms. Potts has arrived."

Tony stood up from the table so quickly that he knocked over his chair. He heard a snort of laughter coming from the air vents above his head.

Just at that moment, Pepper entered. She looked gorgeous, as always. Feeling his face grow hot, Tony picked his chair up from off the floor, shooting the air vent a rude hand gesture behind his back as he did so. Clint couldn't even give him twenty minutes of privacy, could he?

"Hey, Pepper," said Tony, scrambling to pull out Pepper's chair. He heard a faint groan from the door behind him. _Well, Bruce apparently can't keep his nose out of my business, either,_ thought Tony, gritting his teeth.

"Hey, Tony," said the redhead, taking a seat. She really did look beautiful.

They were in one of the highest rooms of Stark Towers. One of the walls was complete glass, overlooking the city. Tony had turned off the lights and lit a few candles, feeling extremely unlike himself.

"So, how was your day?" he said, feeling very much like throwing up. Someone exhaled sharply from above his head, and Tony resisted the urge to look up. _Why the hell is Natasha here?_ he thought, infuriated.

"Oh, you know," Pepper said, and she launched into a spiel about meetings and employees and so on. Tony was finding it very hard to concentrate, and the ring box in his pocket was pressing uncomfortably against his leg.

Barely, just barely, Tony heard a whisper from the same door that Bruce's groan had come from. "Just ask her already." Oh, what do you know? Steve was here, too.

"Pepper," he said when she paused for breath. His heart was pounding in his ears. She could probably hear it. He wiped his palms on his napkin and took a sip of champagne.

"Yes, Tony?"

_This is it. This is my chance._ Tony got down on his knee.

"What are you doing?" _She sounds panicked. Why does she sound panicked?_

"Ms. Potts, we've known each other for a long time. I know I wouldn't be able to even tie my shoes without you, much less run my company. You're intelligent, funny, sweet, and beautiful. I don't deserve you. But you know me. I'm selfish. And so, Virginia Potts, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

She was crying, her hand over her mouth, as she stared at the ring in Tony's palm. _Why is she crying?_ he thought desperately. _Am I really that bad? I knew this was a bad idea. I knew she wouldn't want to marry me. I think I'll just go hide in my lab for the rest of my life..._

But in the next instant, Pepper had thrown her arms around Tony, and she was kissing him. Kissing him like she'd never kissed him before. And then she was nodding, and saying "Yes" over and over.

"Alright guys," she said, grinning and wiping a tear from her cheek. "I know you're here. Come on out."

Clint threw open the air vent and leapt down, coming over to hug Pepper and clap Tony on the back. Bruce and Steve came from the next room, grinning broadly. Natasha jumped down from her perch on the ceiling. Even she was smiling.

Pepper and Natasha left the room after everyone had given their congratulations, Pepper saying that she was going to call her family and Natasha saying that she'd help.

Clint turned to Tony, a mischievous grin crossing his face. "That speech was really beautiful, man. I had tears in my eyes. I wonder if the press knows how sensitive you are."

Hawkeye ran for his life, Tony hot on his heels.

...

A/N: please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: one-shot #2: a bit of fluffy h/c and cuteness. Please R&R!

...

"Don't worry, Peps. I'm fine."

"You're fine? _You're fine_? No, Tony, you're not _fine_," Pepper growled.

Tony was lying in a hospital bed, badly bruised, his leg in a full cast and bandaging on his head.

...

The team had gotten a call from Fury earlier that day. They were to battle some angry lizard-mutants which had crawled out of the sewers down the street from Tony's. They were currently trying to eat absolutely everyone in sight.

Thor had Clint's back as the archer shot mutant after mutant, but unfortunately no one had his front or sides. Tony saw a giant lizard's tail whip around, about to hit Clint's unarmored body, and he blasted the its tail clean off.

As it turned out, the mutant lizards had the same regeneration capabilities that actual lizards have, but at quadruple the speed. The mutant's tail quickly grew back, and it focused itself entirely on Tony.

Its new tail hit Iron Man squarely in the chest, knocking him straight through the wall of a restaurant. The mutant then proceeded to crawl through the Tony-shaped hole and deliver a severe beating to him. The suit's leg had somehow come dislodged when Tony hit the building, and the lizard managed to claw the rest of it off.

By the time Clint was finally able to send an arrow through the reptile's brain, Tony was in bad shape. The team had rushed him to the nearest hospital as Steve dialed Pepper's number.

Tony, never failing to make a joke out of a bad situation, had made milk come out of Clint's nose just as Pepper walked through the door.

The whole room fell silent.

"Well," said Clint, standing and wiping his nose, "I'm going to go get food." He nodded to Pepper, who was glaring daggers at Tony, and pushed past her to the door.

"I think I'll join you," said Steve and Bruce at the same time, getting up to follow Clint.

"As will I," said Thor, and he and Natasha walked outside at a very quick pace.

"You told me you were going on a business trip."

"I was! SHIELD is sort of a business, and the trip was down the road from the Tower," Tony defended himself.

Pepper pursed her lips, and Tony tried to give her one of his award-winnings smiles.

Her heart melted a little at the lopsided, black-and-blue grin. But only a little.

"You scared me today, Tony," Pepper said, sighing and sinking down into a chair next to his bed.

"I think giant killer lizards are something you should be more afraid of."

"Can you just be serious for one second? Please."

The smile faded from Tony's face. "Pepper..." he began.

"No, Tony. You listen to me. I have watched you get yourself into all sorts of idiotic situations. I worry about you constantly. Somehow, you always manage to come out of these things alive, but today you almost didn't. That terrifies me. What if one day, you don't come home? You may think you're being a hero by being Iron Man and protecting the people, and in most ways, you are. But sometimes you're selfish with Iron Man. If you get yourself killed, how do you think _I'll_ feel? What about Rhodey? Clint? Bruce? Think about all the people you'll leave behind. Sometimes, a real hero protects himself to spare the ones he loves from real pain."

"Pepper," Tony said as she paused, "I'm not going anywhere. I know I'm reckless and idiotic at times, but I'm more of a survivor than you think. But, if it makes you feel better, I promise that from now on, I'll be a bit more careful."

"That's all I ask. Try not to anger any more oversized iguanas, OK?"

"Believe me, I won't, if I can help it," Tony groaned, looking down at his cast.

"Well, I have to go to that crucial meeting, which I'm assuming you'll miss," said Pepper, planting a kiss on Tony's lips. "Love you."

"Love you, too. Send the guys back up here."

Clint came in first. "Well? Are you grounded?"

Tony sighed. "'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'? _Please_. Hell hath no fury like a worried Pepper."

...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in forever. Life just caught up to me... For those following The Game is Afoot: I am terribly sorry for the long wait, and an update will be posted by the end of this week.

For you guys: this chapter is kinda short and bittersweet, and it's a bit of a new style for me. I'd love to hear what you guys think!

...

Why does he need Pepper so much? Good question.

Tony is a billionaire. He's a genius. And, no matter what Pepper and others say, he's more than capable of tying his shoes.

So why does he need this? Why does he need _her_?

Tony sits alone in his room at night, when Pepper's gone on some business trip or another, and he _thinks_.

Thinking is one of the most destructive habits of a genius.

He thinks about his parents. He thinks about the people that think he's a good-for-nothing alcoholic. He thinks about his own team: how Steve sees Howard when he looks at him sometimes, how Bruce is always just a little sad, (no matter how hard Tony tries to make him smile), how Natasha doesn't completely trust him (even though she doesn't completely trust anyone), and how Clint tends to always take Nat's side during an argument (Tony knows he's just being stupid with that one). Tony sits in silence and hates who he is.

Tony feels stupid. He can't quite stop drinking, even though he knows it's bad for him. He can't quite stop making snarky and sarcastic comments to Thor or Steve, even though he knows that they'll get offended. He can't quite get the public to like him, even though he knows he shouldn't care.

Because although Tony acts like he doesn't care what the public thinks, he does. It's in his human nature to care.

And it _hurts_. All of it.

Sure, sometimes Clint will help ease the pain for a short period when the guys start prank wars.

And sure, Bruce helps by distracting Tony with an intelligent conversation every so often.

But it always comes back, once the laughter has died from Clint's face, or once Bruce has finished helping Tony repair the damage they have done to his lab.

When Pepper is there, Tony forgets.

He forgets that he's broken and selfish and lonely.

She makes him feel OK.

And when he disappoints her, the pain comes back in waves.

But when the smile he loves comes back, when the playful glimmer returns to those beautiful eyes, he forgets again. He can sleep, he can eat, and he can be truly, 100%, happy.

That is why Tony Stark needs Pepper Potts.

She keeps him alive.

...

**A/N: Pleeeeeeeeeease review :)**


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